Was the crow to be placed somewhere specific? YesWhat is this "somewhat" business: Is it a normal part of a crow? A beak? Not a physical "somewhat"So the other things were not crows? CorrectThe Crow was the first crow Al purchased? Yes Relevant? YesWas it a white crow? It probably was black, but the color does not matterWas it still alive at the time Al had it? Yesmale crow? relevant? No, it could have been male or femaleWere the hundred similar items birds? Yeslive birds? Yesother live animals? Noparts of animals? Noanorganic things? manmade things? No to both

Any of these relevant about the crow: Appearance? Only to the extent that the bird appears to be a crow, so yesSound it makes? NoSmell it gives off? NoIt's feathers? NoDid he intend to kill it? NoStuff it (taxidermy fashion)? NoStand it somewhere? YES

Was the crow unusually quiet Maybe, but this isn't what Al noticedstill Yesserene? Yes, this alsoSomething else? No, these are the main qualitiesPresumably we need to find out where he wanted to stand it? Yes, big part of the solution

Did he have a certain expectation of something subsequently occurring, once he stood it on the desired spot? Yes, without a doubt - good q

Did the crow appear to have some special quality? Yes, and your questions above have identified it: the crow was still and serene, and I think it's fair to say, as you did, that from Al's experience this was unusually the case with birds

Did Al think this crow in this place had some superstitious significance? Does it matter how/where/when/why he had "had access" to these other birds? Or is it just the fact that he had had access to them?

Did he want the bird to appear as if it was stuffed / dead? No, actually quite the opposite!

Was he about to embark on a wager? In a way - you could call it a "wager", but this would be using slang, and not actually by definition what he was really doing. People engage in acts like what Al did quite often, and sometimes they are referred to in similar terms as "wager"

Did Al think this crow in this place had some superstitious significance? NoDoes it matter how/where/when/why he had "had access" to these other birds? Absolutely, therein lies the solutionOr is it just the fact that he had had access to them? It is relevant and helpful to know this, but more important to know why this was the case

When you say 'collect', did he actually physically possess the other birds? Were they caged? by him? Or does 'collect' have another meaning besides 'possess' or 'own'? Was he a bird watcher? avid? Is it relevant where he bought it? a pet store? shop? bazaar? random guy in a jungle somewhere? Is the seller relevant, other than the fact the Al bought the crow from him?

When you say 'collect', did he actually physically possess the other birds? NoWere they caged? Noby him? N/AOr does 'collect' have another meaning besides 'possess' or 'own'? In this case yesWas he a bird watcher? avid? No to bothIs it relevant where he bought it? Not reallya pet store? shop? bazaar? No to theserandom guy Random kid, actuallyin a jungle somewhere? NoIs the seller relevant, other than the fact the Al bought the crow from him? NoDid he run a pet shop? NoDid he use the crow to stand in the shopping window to attract more customers? N/ADid he intend to swap this bird with another, say an inanimate model? NoPerhaps he wanted to create an illusion? No - he did want to create something, but 'illusion' wouldn't be the word to use

Indoors/Outside? Could be eitherAmong other birds? NoAmong other animals? NoIn a display of some sort? YESWas it important that the bird stood relatively still / stayed put? YesDid he want to paint NO, but...(do a picture of the bird)? YES

It has often seemed to me that if Carpaccio, who painted The Stoning of Saint Stephen, had collaborated with van Gogh, who painted "Wheat Field with Crows", the resulting picture could have been called "Stone the Crows".

Was he a photographer in the early years of photography (some 150 years ago, the exposure time was several minutes so that to take a picture of the bird, it would have to be able to stand still for several minutes)?

Was he a photographer in the early years of photography (some 150 years ago, the exposure time was several minutes so that to take a picture of the bird, it would have to be able to stand still for several minutes)? No

Was he seeting up a photo for something (Yesor somebody) This toofamous? Yes

Anything with Crow in the title significant? Noe.g. The movie "The Crow"? Well not this movie, but...Or, indeed, the movie "The Birds"? YES, this movie

As a promotional idea for Alfred Hitchcock's movie 'The Birds', photos of Mr. Hitchcock were taken with a crow perched on his shoulder. This bird was not in the movie, and was not even seen until filming for the movie had ended. One of the staff saw a 12 year old boy with a trained crow sitting on his shoulder and paid the boy $12 to buy the bird. Although there were hundreds of birds used in filming, the only way to make them stay in place was to feed them and then leave food scattered on the ground - none of them were trained to perch on someone's shoulder.

The photos with Mr. Hitchcock and the crow were used to promote the film.